Page 82 of Saving the Halfback

“Come on, now!” Coach Bryer yelled. “Who are we?”

“Panthers!” the team yelled.

“I said, who are we?”

“Panthers!” I screamed with them.

“What are we gonna do?”

“Win!”

“What are we gonna do?”

“Win!”

“Break it down!” Ethan yelled. “Three, two, one!”

“Panthers!” Everyone’s booming voice became one. Shouts and calls filled the air. Nolan began jumping around, bumping with other guys, and I realized he was getting them amped up. His attitude became infectious, and soon, most of them were shifting from one foot to the other, making jokes, shouting random stuff, and laughing. It was like the group suddenly became a mosh pit.

We all made our way out the door, smacking helmets and bumping shoulders, but nerves had me keeping to myself. My palms were sweating, my heart racing so fast, I thought I might throw up right then and there.I can do this. I can do this.I found myself falling behind the group as we came upon the field.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

The field was completely different. The stands were packed full of screaming and cheering people. Not just students, but parents and locals. The other team had their own set of cheerleaders jumping and twirling and riling up the crowd while ours did their thing, music blasting from overhead speakers.

I shook my head, not sure if I could do this. This didn’t feel like just a football game. All these people watching, screaming for us to win. What were the plays again? Did I even know how to run? Did I know how to catch the ball? What if I couldn’t? What if I forgot everything? I was such a fraud.

I began backing up when a hand slipped into mine. I looked over and up into Chase’s stormy eyes, and he winked at me as he gave my hand a little squeeze. “Hey, you got this,” he said, just loud enough for me to hear. “Bailey girl doesn’t back down from anything.” He let go of my hand, and before I knew it, we were all running out onto the field as the announcer called our team’s name.

That gesture…the little glimpse of Chase,myChase, did something to me. It lit my heart and gave me a boost of confidence. The squeeze of my hand had my chest squeezing, and then I found myself being pulled back together. This was football. Just like practice, just like the games we used to play in tykes. Just like the games we’d played on the playground, back before we had fancy uniforms and protective equipment. Damn straight, I never backed down from anything.

I released my adrenaline into the warm-up as music blasted. Nolan’s outgoing, bouncy demeanor really was infectious, and I found myself nearly dancing and having fun.

I was relieved when Coach had me sit for the first quarter, telling me I would get my time but he didn’t want me to get overwhelmed.

By the end of the second quarter, as I watched Ethan get laid out on his ass for the umpteenth time, my relief had long since faded.Fuck. This.Christ, these guys were big. My team were big boys, but these guys were massive. Seriously, I felt like we should be checking birth certificates here. Were these guys legit seventeen-year-olds and not fucking forty-year-olds? Ethan was massive, but we only had one of him, and they had at least six the same size. I had to give it to Ethan, though; he had balls of steel. Not once did he back down. He took every hit, and he put them in their place on more than one occasion.

Our defensive line was strong—and wicked. Lachlan had called Wes our sniper many times, and I could see why. Wes stayed back, and whenever the ball got through our linemen, he was there. He ran so fast, one second, he was far down the field, and what seemed like the next second, the target was locked, and he was taking the guy down. They never saw him coming, and they almost never got past him.

At halftime, we were still hanging on, zero-zero. I sat with the team as we crowded the whiteboard Coach had set up on the sidelines, so no one else could see. Our school didn’t have the facilities to house both teams in the locker rooms.

Coach ripped us a new one. Defense got a pat on the back and told they were doing good, just hang in there. When Coach switched to his notes for offense, we got a tongue lashing. In the end, it came down to us needing to work like a team.

A team.I was on this team, and yet, I’d sat on the sidelines for half the game. I got that Coach wanted to warm me up to it,but I wouldn’t do any good just watching. I had to sink or swim. Just rip off the Band-Aid and jump in there. So, when he was done with his spiel and everyone grabbed their water, I went up to him.

“I’m ready,” I said.

One look at me had him nodding. “If you feel you can do it, I will put you in.”

“Yes. I want to,” I practically begged.

“All right. Have you been watching Mark? I want you to go in position, exactly as he has, okay? We are going to switch up the plays a bit because they will have caught on to us. Are you confident in the plays?”

“Yep, I studied them.”

Coach smacked me on the shoulders. “Good, they will be the exact ones we’ve been practicing this week. Get on out there.”

I pulled my helmet on and shoved my mouth guard in as I ran out with the offense and into the huddle. Coach had called Mark off, and to be honest, he seemed a bit relieved by that.

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